The Super Spies and the High School Bomber (3 page)

Sarah stared at the ruins and shuddered. The damage to the school was worse from this angle. Smoke trailed from the blackened hole where the first floor had been. Parts of the second floor lay crumbled inside it. As if the school were merely a toy model that had been destroyed by an angry preschooler.

Tears sprang to Sarah's eyes. Her hands trembled and she gnawed on her gritty thumbnail until it bled.

“We can go down and look,” Scott said in a hesitant voice, as if he were afraid to make the suggestion.

“Yeah, there's no one back here to stop us.” Sarah wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, smearing some of the dust and streaking her face even more. She took a few steps forward.

“Sarah,” Lacey blubbered.

“Lacey, we have to look.”

“What are we going to do if we find him?”

“We'll get him to a doctor.”

“What if he's already dead?” Lacey asked and sobbed even harder.

Sarah glared at her. “He's not dead! Don't be stupid! He's not!”

“Sarah…” Jackie reached for her.

“Just shut up! He's not dead, do you hear me!” Sarah sucked in some air through clenched teeth and then blew it out. She stomped her foot. “Lacey, you quit bawling right now! If you don't stop crying you'll have to stay here.”

“I don't want to stay here.” Lacey snuffled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Then knock it off.” Sarah glared at her. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked down the hill.

“What if there's another explosion?” Scott called out.

“I'm taking that chance.” Sarah called over her shoulder. “If you don't want to, stay there.”

She continued her trek, keeping to the path, her stride long and purposeful. After a few seconds of indecision, the rest of the Super Spies trailed behind her. Tension filled the air along with the ash and smoke.

As she trudged down the hill, Sarah noticed an eerie silence. She watched ash fall from the sky. It reminded her of walking in the woods when it was snowing—there was movement but no sound.

The rest of the group caught up with her, and they walked closer to the rubble, searching for any signs of life. Sarah's heart hammered her chest. She was sure it would burst through any minute.

“This is horrible,” Jackie choked.

Sarah grimaced. “You got that right.”

They fanned out, surveying the catastrophe.

Lacey flailed her arms. “Oh, no! Oh, no!”

Sarah pivoted toward her, annoyed. “What now?”

“It's a body!”

“Where?” Sarah ran toward her.

Jackie and Scott traveled behind her.

“Over there,” Lacey pointed. She whirled away unable to look any longer.

Sarah peered in the direction where Lacey pointed and gasped. A pair of legs protruded from the debris. Large pieces of rubble squashed the upper body. She couldn't see a head or any of the torso, only the legs and feet. Choking back a sob, Sarah stumbled toward the body. Her stomach twisted into a hard knot.

“Sarah, what are you doing?” Jackie asked.

“I'm going to see if I can help him.”

Jackie grabbed her arm and held her still. “Sarah…he's dead. There's no way you can help him.”

“You don't know that,” Sarah argued. She tried to shake her arm free from Jackie's grasp.

“Sarah—”

“Would you let go?” Sarah spat the words at her, full of fury. She managed to shake her arm free and jogged toward the body. The rest of the Super Spies followed close behind.

When they got closer, Sarah realized the person had on khakis and running shoes. His belt was made of leather and the tail of a light blue oxford had come untucked from the pants.

A sob caught in her throat. The rumpled shirt reminded her of her uncle. It was the first thing he did when he walked in the door, untuck his shirt. After that, he'd loosen his belt, and then he'd open the refrigerator door and grab a soda. He'd suck it down in seconds, then go and change his clothes. Tears welled in her eyes and she forced herself back to the present. Sarah glanced down and cringed—a dark stain leaked from the body and spread across the tarmac.

“Blood!” Lacey shrieked.

Sarah grabbed her and pulled her away, but Lacey struggled against her and broke free.

“He's wearing running shoes! It's Uncle Walt! It's Uncle Walt!” Tears ran down Lacey's face mixing with the dust and ash. She had finally lost it.

Sarah came from behind and grabbed Lacey. She whirled her around and clutched her arms in a firm grip. Shaking her hard, Sarah said, “Uncle Walt's running shoes are silver, these are red. Besides, he never wears his running shoes to work. It isn't Uncle Walt.”

Lacey pulled out of Sarah's angry clutches and rubbed her arms. She stopped screaming, but watched Sarah warily for another angry outburst.

“If it isn't Uncle Walt, where is he?” Lacey wailed. Not waiting for an answer, she pivoted and started sobbing again. She paced until Scott walked beside her, and whispered.

Sighing, Sarah was glad Scott had taken over where Lacey was concerned. She knew she couldn't handle her sister right now. Anger kept her from going over the edge. The hysteria train was just around the corner, and she knew it wouldn't take her long to hop on and go for a ride.

“Hey! Get away from there!” shouted a firefighter as he came around a large pile of debris thirty feet away.

“We found a body!” Sarah cried.

“I said get away from there!” the fireman yelled again and picked up his pace.

Sarah's stomach twisted into a painful knot as alarm bells rang in her head.

“Let's book!” Scott yelled. He grabbed Lacey's hand and pulled her along.

“I'm with you!” Sarah grabbed Lacey's other hand and took the lead.

Running back toward the hill, Sarah glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the man chasing them. His fire-retardant coat seemed to hinder him and his hat was too big. It kept falling over his face and he struggled to keep it on his head.

Sarah dropped Lacey's hand and increased her speed, widening the gap. After she made it up the hill, she glanced back. The firefighter had given up and stood below, watching them. She stopped running and stared back at the man. Squinting, Sarah noticed the sun reflecting off of his shoes.
Shoes
,
why is he wearing shoes
and not boots
?

The rest of the Super Spies collided with her and they all struggled to stay upright. Everyone managed to stay standing except Lacey. She stumbled and fell into the dry, prickly grass.

“Why'd you stop running?” Scott gasped.

Sarah didn't answer but pointed down at the fireman.

“What?” Jackie turned and squinted down the hill.

“How come that firefighter isn't wearing those special boots?” Sarah frowned.

Lacey glared at her. “Who cares?” She rubbed her legs where the dry grass had scratched them.

“They look like running shoes, a lot like Uncle Walt's.” Sarah continued her scrutiny.

“Well, we know Uncle Walt doesn't work for the fire department.”

Ignoring Lacey's sarcasm, Sarah said, “And why isn't he with any of the other firefighters?”

Scott frowned. “I don't know. It's weird.”

They watched as the firefighter turned away and pulled something from his pocket. It looked like a phone. He pushed buttons, shook it a few times, and then pushed buttons again. The firefighter seemed frustrated as he put the phone back in his pocket. Sarah stared dumbfounded as he took off toward the baseball field.

“What in the world is he doing?” Sarah asked.

“You got me.” Jackie frowned.

“Let's follow him.”

“What if there's a bomb at the baseball field?” Lacey asked.

“I don't think so.” Sarah shook her head as she watched the man run. “He wouldn't be running toward the field if he thought there was a bomb there.”

“He might be trying to rescue someone,” Jackie said.

Sarah shook her head again. “No, the bomb went off in the school. No one uses the baseball field in the morning. There's something off about this guy.”

Before anyone could stop her, Sarah was off and running, chasing the lone fireman. The only thing the others could do was follow her.

Sarah ran full tilt hoping to catch him. The man rounded the corner and disappeared from sight. Perspiration rolled down her back as she picked up her pace. Licking her lips, she tasted the salty residue from her sweat. As she turned the corner, she realized the man was gone.

The only evidence that he had actually been there was the fireman's coat and hat lying on the ground at the edge of the field.

 

 

The coat lay at the edge of a forest that skirted the baseball field. Breathing hard, Sarah scanned the woods looking for the mysterious fireman.

He was gone. She turned her attention to the coat. It was black with bright yellow stripes across the chest and at the bottom of the jacket. The rest of the group caught up with her just as she picked the coat up.

Scott gasped. “Where'd he go?”

“He disappeared into the woods.” Sarah held up the coat. “He left this.”

“He sure was acting weird.” Jackie wiped the moisture from her face with her shirtsleeve. Some of her curls clung to her forehead, trapped by her sweat.

Sarah pursed her lips. “I know. Why in the world would he run off into the woods?”

Jackie shook her head. “I don't know. He should be rescuing people from this mess.”

“Maybe…he isn't a real fireman,” Sarah said.

“Maybe.” Jackie's eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why would someone come up to the school pretending to be a fireman?”

“That is a very good question.” Sarah frowned as she rummaged through the pockets.

“Anything?” Jackie asked.

“Not really…just this cell phone.”

Sarah was about to say more but was interrupted by a police officer yelling from the back parking lot of the school.

“Hey! You kids! Get over here!”

Scott cursed under his breath. “It's my dad.”

The teenagers whirled around and jogged toward the Chief of Police.

“For Pete's sake! What are you kids doing back here?” Chief Johnson grumbled when the kids reached the pavement.

“We're worried about my Uncle Walt,” Sarah said.

“You're not doing him any good back here.”

“Dad, their uncle was in the school when the explosion happened.”

The Chief sighed and pushed his hat back off his forehead. “Okay, I know you're worried about him, but there's nothing you can do for him here. The best thing you can do is go home and wait. We're doing everything we can to find all the survivors.”

“We found a body,” Sarah blurted out. Her body went rigid as the memory of the corpse hit her. A wave of nausea washed over her and she struggled to keep from puking.

The chief shook his head. “Where?” His shoulders sagged, making him appear old and weary.

“That way.” Sarah pointed.

“All right, we'll take care of it. Now, you kids…hey, why do you have that jacket?”

“We found it over there.” Sarah pointed toward the woods. “On the ground.”

“Yeah, Dad, this firefighter acted really weird. He chased us up the hill and then ran into the woods.”

The Chief frowned and gazed toward the forest. “That's strange. Is this the jacket he was wearing?”

Sarah nodded. “Yeah, he dropped it before he went into the woods.”

“Well, the fire department keeps an inventory of these. It should be easy enough to find out who it belongs to.” The Chief took the jacket from Sarah. “Now, I want you kids to head home. Scott, you go with them.”

“All right, Dad.”

Scott walked away from the rubble with his arm around Lacey. Jackie trailed after them, and Sarah reluctantly followed her.

Sarah stopped and looked over her shoulder. “You'll call us as soon as you find my uncle?”

“I promise. Now you kids get home.”

Sarah frowned and dropped her head. “All right.”

Jackie put her arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “Let's go.”

Sarah started to walk away and then turned back again. “Chief?”

“Y-e-e-e-s?”

“There was this cell phone in the pocket of the coat.” Sarah retraced her steps and handed it to the Chief.

“What the…” He grabbed a plastic evidence bag from beneath his coat and put his hand inside it. Taking the phone from Sarah, the Chief examined it for a minute, before wrapping the bag around it. He was careful to never touch it with his hands. His eyes narrowed. “You said this was in the coat pocket?”

“Yeah, don't you think that's weird?”

“Absolutely. Now, you kids go home. I'll call you as soon as I find your uncle.”

“Why did you put it in an evidence bag?”

“Because it's evidence,” Chief Johnson said curtly, and without another word spun on his heel and walked away from them.

The Super Spies trudged toward Sarah and Lacey's home—Sarah's steps were heavy with worry. She could hear Lacey hiccup from her most recent bout of sobbing.

Scott put his arm around Lacey and comforted her. A stab of guilt seemed to pierce Sarah's heart and she inhaled suddenly. She was secretly glad Scott was taking care of her sister. It helped ease her burden.

Jackie poked Sarah in the side. “Why is the cell phone evidence?”

“I don't know…but it must be related to the bombing in some way.”

Jackie's eyes widened. “I bet you're right. That means the fireman who had the phone is involved. Do you think he's the bomber?”

“Hmmm, I don't know.” Sarah furrowed her brow as she thought. “What does a cell phone have to do with the blast?”

“I don't know.”